Kreuzberg

Ever since I traveled through Mexico City two years ago, I’ve been on the hunt for authentic Mexican cuisine on par with the delicious tacos, quesadillas and tamales that lined the streets. More so, as a vegan who seems to be fueled by soy and hot sauce, finding spicy, vegan, Mexican food in Berlin has proven to be an ever-elusive feat. Though my kitchen is always stocked with limes, cilantro, habaneros and the like, the end result of my cooking always fell short of expectations. I blamed the vegan substitutes (almond milk horchata just didn’t measure up), and gave up on my search. Enter Chaparro, the Kreuzberg restaurant that offers vegan Mexican food bursting with flavours and life like the city it comes from. Offering both meat and veggie options at totally affordable prices, Chaparro is definitely a new favourite. Click on see the delicious things they offer!

Considering the average lunch or dinner of the modern Berliner is probably something between a Döner and a Kimchi soup it’s becoming more and more unlikely to come across a German-style meal these days! But why? I do realize German Cuisine is maybe not the most famous one in the world, but living here you should have at least tried! And to be honest, as much as I like Asian food, to have a really traditional German dish is just the best and now that I am writing about it my craving for it is becoming unbearable. I might have to go to one of our 8 best German restaurants that we have compiled for you after the jump. Enjoy!

A lot of the big cities of this world are known for their fast pace and stressfulness – not so Berlin. Here we like a more calm and relaxed lifestyle and we like to use every opportunity to come down and forget about our daily grind. Maybe it’s also because we have some amazing options in terms of wellness places that makes us so relaxed. In this spirit, we want to introduce some of our favourite destinations of beauty and wellness in Berlin. With these yoga studios, spas, gardens, salons and holistic retreats, you can easily escape the busy metropolis for a while, clear your mind and find tranquility. Click on to see our suggestions on where you can go to unwind and pamper yourself!

Kreuzberg has a new gem of Italian cuisine right in its heart at Lausitzer Platz. We tested the new restaurant Nudo recently and can full-heartedly give it the thumbs up. Co-owned by the founder of the super successful Kochhaus stores it comes as no surprise that the recipes and ingredients are of the best of quality here. The concept is also quite different from most restaurants. They only have one daily menu that consists of four courses and combines nouveaux cuisine and traditional dishes. It normally includes both fish and meat, but can also be requested as a vegetarian menu or other special requests. So you can basically come here every day and experience something entirely new. We love this concept very much, especially to such a fair price of only 25 EUR. Have a look at our impressions and check out this great new place as soon as you can!

If there is one thing about the restaurant scene in Berlin that I love it’s the amazing variety of Asian cuisine in town. I think I have never visited a city with more good Asian restaurants (outside of Asia of course) than Berlin. One of the most popular choices of Asian cuisine for the Berliners must be Indian. In some districts you get the feeling that literally every block has its own Indian restaurant. To be honest the huge amount of Indian places has also caused a mixed reputation for Indian cuisine in Berlin because apparently there are a lot of mediocre and bad ones. But those should not overshadow those places that have truely amazing Indian food. And to give you a helping hand in the big world of Indian food in Berlin, we have compiled a guide with our favorites and some of the most popular and loved Indian restaurants in Berlin. And in case this guide wets your appetite so much that you can’t wait to indulge into this food as soon as possible (as it did for me while writing this article) how about ordering in?

You probably know Backyard in Kreuzberg from various parties and events such as the Last Days parties, but Backyard’s origins are that of an art gallery. Tonight they open a new exhibition called Lichtrotor // Hautskizzen with an installation by upcoming industrial designer Danai. The project she did with three other artist shows a hypnotizing kinetic installation that rotates and creates an interaction between humans and the object. In addition, artist Suzan Rinow who you might happened to see at Berghain bar during the weekends, is going to present her beautiful tattoo sketches, right now available in a tattoo studio in Torstr. So tonight, at the opening, you might stumble about your next tattoo motive ( which you can chose exclusively from Suzan ) and get hypnotized by the Lichtrotor installation at the same time. Of course there will be music and we have seen these exhibition openings eventually turning into an after party. You can join the Facebook event here and get an impression of the tattoo sketches after the jump.

If you’re up for yummie German cuisine and want to try out the sweet sin named Eierkuchen, a usually sweet dish we Germans eat during our childhood and beyond, we can recommend you a new food project called Friede, Freude und Eierkuchen that launches this Thursday at Vögelchen Bar in Kreuzberg. Find out more about tasty “Eierkuchen” that will be served in every possible variation and can be prepared salty or sweet after the jump.

If there is one Christmas Market in Berlin that will satisfy all those enthusiasts of contemporary design than it’s the one at Hallesches Haus at Tempelhofer Ufer. This place is going to become a new concept store and restaurant in the Spring of 2015, but in the meantime they use the space to do markets and events where they already present some of the brands they will be selling. What is quite remarkable about their curation is the fact that they sell a lot of products from local designers and labels. We salute this support of Berlin creativity and sure hope it’s going to be a success for all of them.

At their holiday market that will be open again this weekend they have Berlin-based brands and product designers such as Urbanara, Juniqe, P&T Paper and Tea, Wednesday Paper Works, Assembly Line, Rag And Bone Man, Marc Schulthess, Tom Herz, Haenska Bags, HEVAN, LJ Lamps, Fundamental Berlin, and NUTSANDWOODS. But their selection goes far beyond Berlin. On the international front they have Iris Hantwerk, Normann Copehagen, The Future Mapping Company, Umbra/Shift, Broste, Mens Society, Nick Fraser, GPOD, CLAASSEN & PARTNER, FREUD, Pepe Heykoop, and Boskke. Of course there is also something to eat and drink at food booths by The Future Breakfast, Hirsch & Eber, Samurai Spoon, Matürlich, BRLO Craft Beer!, Blooming Juice, Berliner Winter, and Our/Berlin Vodka. Have a look after the jump to see some impressions from their first round last weekend and some of the local brands they carry.

Last night the giant street art mural near Schlesisches Tor got painted over in pitch black. There are various speculations behind who did it and for which reasons. What I found most plausible was a statement found in a Polysingularity article, claiming that it was the italian artist Blu who commissioned the cancelation of his own artwork.

“(…)the artists decided to paint them all black, so that nobody can take advantage of the original work… A “fuck you” gesture towards the city, towards the real estate company, but most of all – to all the people who love this artwork and everything that it’s come to represent. The argument of the people who are doing that is that Berlin is not the same anymore, that the real estate company will just use the artwork to sell apartments more expensive, that a new statement needs to be made at this new moment of time… In a way, they are doing exactly what the artwork says: “reclaim your city”.”

The rest of the article goes on about how pessimistic the destruction of the artwork is. That it is not the right message the city needs right now in this turbulent time of turbo-capitalism & neoliberalism, remodelling Berlin into a Lego-Gotham. Even if I can relate to the arguments, in regards to the artwork, I don’t agree 100%. I share my thoughts on the repainting, along with some videos showing the artist at work, after the jump.

The monster of gentrification is eating Berlin’s free spirits and creative culture. Maybe this way of thinking is rather extreme, but what will happen to the so-called “cool neighbourhoods” when all people who are currently living there will not be able to afford it anymore. And much more important: what will happen to our city when the income will strictly determine where you can live. Not so much of a multi-cultural free society in the end. A horrible faith that happened already in so many cities before and that must be stopped in Berlin.

People have been protesting the rapidly rising rents for years at Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg. The theater collective copy &waste created an audio walk that guides right into a conflict zone for living space, money and love. Through the headphones you’ll hear just what it sounds like – the dividing of the loot. The audio walk is called “Nasty Peace” and it is in German, English and Turkish and is created with the participation of the Turkish community living in the neighborhood.

For Nasty Peace, copy&waste returned packing a great deal of research material: conversations with residents, observations of everyday life, sociological, scientific and philosophical texts about property and privatization play as significant a role as Berlin Circle, a piece by Charles Mee inspired by the same source as The Caucasian Chalk Circle and fantasy material such as Game of Thrones and Masters of the Universe. All the dates and the trailer after the jump.